Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to coordinate investigations into lead thefts from places of worship (a) nationally and (b) regionally.

It is not for the Home Office to coordinate investigations into thefts of lead from places of worship. It is for the police to respond to reports of such thefts and for the courts to impose appropriate sentences on those who commit these crimes. The Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 brought in a tough enforcement regime to tighten the net around rogue dealers who trade in stolen metal. Latest available statistics for 2014/15 show that 27,512 metal theft offences were recorded by police compared with 62,348 offences in 2012/13.